I know Ryan and others had said that we should really be trying to ask issues not pertaining to PMDG in other areas of the forum, which I tried to do in the hardware, mobo, cpu forum. However, I have had little to response. Since I am literally building a new computer for the NGX, I thought that there was relevance to asking in this forum, plus - I know I'll get quick responses. This is pasted from my exact thread in the hardware forum. Thanks in advance gusy!"Ok, I'm just about to pull the trigger on a new build and wanted to get some advice about a few things. I"m going to be installing the Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k and wanted to get some feed back about which mother board to install. Its between the Asus Maximus IV Extreme LGA 1155 and the Asus P8P67 Delux. Is the Maximus overkill? Or will it help me get to a 5OC? I also saw somewhere that its a huge MOBO, and I need to find a case that will fit it accordingly. Any thoughts on cases?Also, I was going to go with a corsair H80, but see that the new H100 is set to come out. Is it worth the wait, and will I have to find a case that will also house the bigger H100?Thanks guys! Im completely new to custom building, but can't wait to have a computer that can finally run FSX they way I want it. "

Corsair H80 is great, the H100 looks complete overkill, especially for FSX. The 2600k is a great CPU, although the 2500k performs equally as well and is cheaper. These CPU's run very cool anyway, a good air cooler or a H50 ,70 or 80 do the job perfect. The overclock block is the voltage you can put through the chip, not the temp limit of the chip. Many people aim to run 24/7 at under 1.4v vcore and temps usually top out at 80 deg max with a mid range cooler.50C...not sure what you mean?

I just did a new build at the end of May.I'd would agree with Hellfire in that you should get a 2500k. I elected to get the 2600k but I really could have saved some money.If you plan to overclock, then I'd recommend the ASUS line of MotherBoards. I went with a P867 Deluxe and it overclocks and is stable. (The first one I purchased had a PCI16x slot go inop.)For Cooling I went with the NH14 Nocuta air cooler and I have very good results with it.If you mean 5.0 GHz on FSX, I'd recommend against that. Too much voltage can drastically shorten the life of the chip.If you mean 50C as a temperature, then that's fine. I think I read somewhere the limit is around 80C and up. (Please correct me if I'm wrong)The bottom line is: Despite FSX being a frame intensive beast, a PC close to what you reference runs my PMDG planes, my other payware planes and my scenery/mesh add ons flawlessly. The one gripe I have is that I live and have worked around EWR, so my frame rates when flying in the area (without overclocking) take a beating.Short answer: The NGX was referenced to be on par with the MD11 in reagard to frame rate. I'd think that would be a good bench mark.

I just did a new build at the end of May.I'd would agree with Hellfire in that you should get a 2500k. I elected to get the 2600k but I really could have saved some money.If you plan to overclock, then I'd recommend the ASUS line of MotherBoards. I went with a P867 Deluxe and it overclocks and is stable. (The first one I purchased had a PCI16x slot go inop.)For Cooling I went with the NH14 Nocuta air cooler and I have very good results with it.If you mean 5.0 GHz on FSX, I'd recommend against that. Too much voltage can drastically shorten the life of the chip.If you mean 50C as a temperature, then that's fine. I think I read somewhere the limit is around 80C and up. (Please correct me if I'm wrong)The bottom line is: Despite FSX being a frame intensive beast, a PC close to what you reference runs my PMDG planes, my other payware planes and my scenery/mesh add ons flawlessly. The one gripe I have is that I live and have worked around EWR, so my frame rates when flying in the area (without overclocking) take a beating.Short answer: The NGX was referenced to be on par with the MD11 in reagard to frame rate. I'd think that would be a good bench mark.

Good answe SKEWR. As an aside I too am contemplating a new build, but really wondering if waiting for the new chip that comes out next year is worth waiting for instead of SB? Mainly because if Microsoftnew Flightsim (Flight) comes out next year there's a fair chance of it needing higher end hardware than the current FSX & the NGX require. I'm interested to hear from the Beta testers on what runs best with all the sliders maxed out and flying with the NGX in a maxed out scenery area? What sort of frame rates are they getting in certain places/situatins (Eg. Brisbane or Heathrow add on scenery with max settings?).Really interested to know just what it takes to get the best performance and bang-for-buck out of both FSX, PMDG's NGX, and maxed out ORBX style scenery. Sort of need to know soon as I'm considering spending the dough as soon as my tax return comes in (if I get back what I hope for! :( ).Cheers,David

I know Ryan and others had said that we should really be trying to ask issues not pertaining to PMDG in other areas of the forum, which I tried to do in the hardware, mobo, cpu forum. However, I have had little to response. Since I am literally building a new computer for the NGX, I thought that there was relevance to asking in this forum, plus - I know I'll get quick responses. This is pasted from my exact thread in the hardware forum. Thanks in advance gusy!"Ok, I'm just about to pull the trigger on a new build and wanted to get some advice about a few things. I"m going to be installing the Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k and wanted to get some feed back about which mother board to install. Its between the Asus Maximus IV Extreme LGA 1155 and the Asus P8P67 Delux. Is the Maximus overkill? Or will it help me get to a 5OC? I also saw somewhere that its a huge MOBO, and I need to find a case that will fit it accordingly. Any thoughts on cases?Also, I was going to go with a corsair H80, but see that the new H100 is set to come out. Is it worth the wait, and will I have to find a case that will also house the bigger H100?Thanks guys! Im completely new to custom building, but can't wait to have a computer that can finally run FSX they way I want it. "

As for the motherboard, the Asus Maximus IV Extreme doesn't really make sense unless you go Tri-SLI. It's no better for overclocking than the plain P8P67 that already has more than enough power phases. Sandy Bridge has pretty much everything integrated in the CPU and the bus remains at 100 after OCing I would recommend the P8P67 if you know you'll never need SLI or a P8P67 Pro / P8Z68-V Pro otherwise

Good answe SKEWR. As an aside I too am contemplating a new build, but really wondering if waiting for the new chip that comes out next year is worth waiting for instead of SB? Mainly because if Microsoftnew Flightsim (Flight) comes out next year there's a fair chance of it needing higher end hardware than the current FSX & the NGX require. I'm interested to hear from the Beta testers on what runs best with all the sliders maxed out and flying with the NGX in a maxed out scenery area? What sort of frame rates are they getting in certain places/situatins (Eg. Brisbane or Heathrow add on scenery with max settings?).Really interested to know just what it takes to get the best performance and bang-for-buck out of both FSX, PMDG's NGX, and maxed out ORBX style scenery. Sort of need to know soon as I'm considering spending the dough as soon as my tax return comes in (if I get back what I hope for! :( ).Cheers,David

I don't think anyone ever said anything about running completely maxed with the hardest hitting scenery and traffic etc - that's unrealistic even with the best system you can buy. What I've consistently said is that we've done our best to minimize to the greatest extent possible the hit that you get from the airplane itself. There is still a hit though, do not expect the default C172 or something here.The best you can do is an overclocked Sandy Bridge i5 or i7, 4+GB of RAM, and a recent 1GB+ Nvidia card like the 560 Ti, 570 or 580 all running on Win7 x64.

I'm surprised you didn't get much of a response in the hardware forum. It's usually very active! Anyway...Cooling:The H80 will perform very well on a 2500k or 2600k. It has already been getting really great reviews from some users at overclock.net. For $10 or even $20 more, however, I would highly recommend the H100. While these chips do run much cooler than previous generations, your next 8-core socket 2011 CPU upgrade may not! Besides, I don't think there's such thing as overkill when it comes to cooling. I would prefer to make it a non-concern by buying the best cooling available. Anyway, the H100 should be available within a couple weeks according to the Corsair rep on overclock.net.Case:As you said, you will need a case that can fit the H100. In my biased opinion, you should check out the Corsair 650D. It's a little pricey, but after having begun with the budget case route, I'm telling you that a good case is really worth splurging on. It makes building the PC so much easier and looks soooooooo much better when you're done.CPU:As for CPU, get the i5-2500k. There's absolutely no reason to get the 2600k, trust me - resist the temptation to have the "manliest" CPU! Do something smart, save your $100, and put it towards the H100 and a nice case. Memory:May I suggest 2x4GB of 2133 CL9 memory. Memory prices have dropped like a rock and Sandy Bridge is able to make much better use of high speed memory than 1366 chips.Motherboard:Aside from LLC options, motherboards have very little to do with overclocking performance with Sandy Bridge. An Asus P8Z68 or P67 Pro will get you to 4.8GHz every bit as well as a Deluxe or Maximus Extreme. The only reason to upgrade beyond the Pro is if it is lacking any features you really need. It's completely up to you to scour the detailed list of features and decide what you want. Like I said, none of them will have any impact on overclocking performance. Regardless of your motherboard choice, I think you will find that 4.8GHz is about the limit if you want to stay at or under 1.40v. I've had both a Gigabyte P67A-UD5-B2 and now my Asus P8Z68 Deluxe. I much prefer the Asus!PSU:Seasonic X series are the best PSUs in my opinion. Corsair AX series is pretty much a rebranded Seasonic X series. A Corsair TX series will be just fine as well, just not as efficient. 750W is all you need.GPU:GTX560TI or better.

I'm surprised you didn't get much of a response in the hardware forum. It's usually very active! Anyway...Cooling:The H80 will perform very well on a 2500k or 2600k. It has already been getting really great reviews from some users at overclock.net. For $10 or even $20 more, however, I would highly recommend the H100. While these chips do run much cooler than previous generations, your next 8-core socket 2011 CPU upgrade may not! Besides, I don't think there's such thing as overkill when it comes to cooling. I would prefer to make it a non-concern by buying the best cooling available. Anyway, the H100 should be available within a couple weeks according to the Corsair rep on overclock.net.Case:As you said, you will need a case that can fit the H100. In my biased opinion, you should check out the Corsair 650D. It's a little pricey, but after having begun with the budget case route, I'm telling you that a good case is really worth splurging on. It makes building the PC so much easier and looks soooooooo much better when you're done.CPU:As for CPU, get the i5-2500k. There's absolutely no reason to get the 2600k, trust me - resist the temptation to have the "manliest" CPU! Do something smart, save your $100, and put it towards the H100 and a nice case. Memory:May I suggest 2x4GB of 2133 CL9 memory. Memory prices have dropped like a rock and Sandy Bridge is able to make much better use of high speed memory than 1366 chips.Motherboard:Aside from LLC options, motherboards have very little to do with overclocking performance with Sandy Bridge. An Asus P8Z68 or P67 Pro will get you to 4.8GHz every bit as well as a Deluxe or Maximus Extreme. The only reason to upgrade beyond the Pro is if it is lacking any features you really need. It's completely up to you to scour the detailed list of features and decide what you want. Like I said, none of them will have any impact on overclocking performance. Regardless of your motherboard choice, I think you will find that 4.8GHz is about the limit if you want to stay at or under 1.40v. I've had both a Gigabyte P67A-UD5-B2 and now my Asus P8Z68 Deluxe. I much prefer the Asus!PSU:Seasonic X series are the best PSUs in my opinion. Corsair AX series is pretty much a rebranded Seasonic X series. A Corsair TX series will be just fine as well, just not as efficient. 750W is all you need.GPU:GTX560TI or better.

Corey,Thank you very much for your detailed response. This will definitely help me in a few days when I order the parts. Now, I just figure out to put all of them in there? Is there like a holy grail tutorial or book I should look into - or just stick with the countless youtube videos online.Thanks again!Cheers

I like youtube myself because it's not just a wall of text, I can actually see what they're explaining, and it's quicker. Just watch several videos so you make sure you catch anything that another video might have missed. I think you will find that everything goes together like really large lego pieces. It's not very difficult at all.

Ryan and Corey,Thanks heaps for your responses. Didnt see them till today, just the answers I've been seeking these past months. For me your posts represent the definitive answer on what works best with FSX.The only difference for me is that I'll be buying the Corsair Graphite Case - just cos it looks good. Thanks heaps, David